The seasoned captain was a man of Constantis, which, as far as Renato knew, was a southern kingdom at the continent's edge, even farther south than the little mage's homeland of Spatia.
Judging by his conversation and seafaring experience, De Leon had clearly sailed these waters for many years. He knew the Storm Sea inside out, but knew little about affairs in the Empire's distant interior.
Renato did not want to waste time explaining the Underdark, the Elder Brain Dragon, Drow cities, or the Lost Ancient Kingdom to a man who dealt with waves...
Those experiences were too outlandish. Any one of them would have left a listener dumbstruck, let alone trying to explain them all at once amid the current chaos. There was simply no need.
Rather than recount his lengthy underground journey and perhaps invite needless suspicion and trouble, Renato decided to invent a story that fit people's preconceptions and quickly dispel the captain's doubts.
So, in response to De Leon's question, Renato feigned a moment's hesitation before delivering the account he had already prepared.
In this story, Renato transformed into a victim of a magical experiment at the Empire's Mage Academy. The runaway experiment had affected his family's fief, but the Empire's various institutions kept passing the blame, none willing to pay compensation. As a noble, Renato had been forced to try to put his lands in order, only to be swept up in an enormous surge of magical energy and, by sheer chance, "flung" all the way to the distant Storm Sea...
Through their conversation, Renato discovered that this southern captain actually knew little about the Borealia Empire. Much of what he knew consisted of absurd rumors Renato had never even heard, such as a mad nation controlled by mages, or nobles spending their days scheming